Monday, 27 May 2013

Charley Redford was just an ordinary girl until Jake
Caplin moved to her small town in Indiana and convinced her she was
extraordinary. Almost from day one Jake pulled Charley into the deep and
promised he was right there with her. But when a tragic incident darkened
Jake’s life he waded out into the shallows and left Charley behind.

Almost four years later Charley thinks she’s moved on.
That is until she takes a study year abroad in Edinburgh and bumps into none
other than Jake Caplin at a party with his new girlfriend. The
bad-boy-turned-good attempts to convince Charley to forgive him, and as her
best friend starts spending time with Jake’s, Charley calls a truce, only to
find herself tumbling back into a friendship with him.

As they grow closer, the spark between them flares and
begins playing havoc with their lives and relationships. When jealousy and
longing rear their destructive heads, Charley and Jake struggle to come to
grips with what they mean to one another.

And even if they work it out, there is no guarantee
Charley will ever trust Jake to lead her back into the deep…

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About the Author

Samantha Young is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author from Stirlingshire, Scotland. She's been nominated for the Goodreads Choice Award for Best Author and Best Romance for her international bestselling novel ON DUBLIN STREET. For more info on Samantha's adult fiction visithttp://www.ondublinstreet.com

Monday, 20 May 2013

*cough* Samantha Young *cough* so please check back so you don't miss out!

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A new but amazing talent - Jessica Hawkins - has her 2nd book in The Cityscape series due out shortly. I've had the pleasure to read and review both books in the series - Come Undone and Come Alive so I shall divulge all next week, along with an exclusive interview with Jessica!

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The fantastic Kerry Taylor will also be dropping by the blog to give an exclusive interview and some fab-u-lous giveaways. Watch this space!

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I will be posting my review of the spectacular book - Cold by Brandon Shire. This author is one of my ultimate faves - if you have not read any of his books you MUST check out the Afflicted series and Listening to Dust.

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Plus I will be updating much more HOTNESS to the Lush List here on Foxylutely BR and if you have any to add please let me know - it could earn you a prize such as an eBook of your choice.

Sunday, 19 May 2013

Finally we get to catch up in the third book of The
Blackstone Affair series. I must admit I had to go back and read the previous
book to recall what had gone on. It was nice to be back in the luscious arms of
Ethan Blackstone again (I wish!) with his twinkling eyes and his goatee beard. He
is one of the top book boyfriends of all time.

This third instalment takes off right after the bomb scare
in London when Ethan whisks Brynne off to his sister’s country mansion to
recover but also where they find out some whopping news! What a curveball that
was for the insecure couple but could this be the making of them?

The book continues in the same vein as the previous two with
the developing relationship of Ethan and Brynne, all wonderfully interwoven
with the timing of the London Olympics. I would have loved to have had more
written about this and also Ethan’s cousin who was competing. What we got
though was page after page of the sexy interludes of the couple which I must
say got a little repetitive for my liking. I felt there needed a little more of
the back story of the hidden threat to Brynne’s life in relation to the senator
over in the US. This came near to the end which had me panicking that we wouldn't have enough time to fit it all in and it therefore felt a little rushed. Oh and
I guessed who “done it” way before the big reveal – just call me Poirot but it
was obvious to me. It made me a little sad as I was routing for that guy and
wanted him to have a HEA too. It’s still a mystery as to what really happened
there too.

But saying all that I still loved this book and adored Ethan
and his filthy mouth. I liked all the English slang and sayings as I tend to
say more Americanisms after reading mostly books based in the US so it was nice
to have some “home turf” sayings. I would have liked to have gotten more of a
story into Ethan’s darkness due to his time in Special Forces in Afghanistan. I
bet that would be a book in itself (hint, hint)

After reading this I felt I needed more and I was happy to
hear a rumour that a fourth book is on the cards so this trilogy might become a
quad…… four book series. I hope so as I think it warrants more. Who am I kidding
– I just want more Ethan Blackstone, the sexy arse!

Monday, 13 May 2013

Looking for some hotness to while away a boring Monday? Well I can highly recommend this book by Kendall Grey - it is seriously Raw, Dirty and off the charts hotness. Oh and did I say it includes totally sexy rockers? Yes it does! Top read of last week for me. Review to follow but deffo a 5 star read people. Go get at it peeps! You will not regret it :D

This book was a trip down a different route for me and I
liked the idea. It wasn't all hearts and flowers and there’s not exactly an HEA
but it was enjoyable nonetheless.

Simone White who is in between jobs and needy for money, is
saved when her roommate suggests she joins the escort agency she works for to
earn some serious cash. Simone is a little hesitant but finally agrees to do it
and their first “assignment” is to attend a party for the wealthy. It’s here
that Simone meets Will Marcus who has recently hit the big time when his book
has been bought by the movie studio to turn into a screenplay.

Will becomes enchanted with Simone and after their first “date”
he requests further escort time via the agency for only Simone. Neither of them are looking for a relationship so the arrangement suits them fine and both are
getting what they want from it.

Although I did enjoy this book I did find it a little slow
to start and was overly descriptive, as such we did not get to meet Will until
nearly half the book was read but we learnt in rapt detail what everyone was wearing
down to very minor details which were not really necessary. Some of the
conversation felt stunted and didn't pick up a steady natural flow.

I was under the impression that this was an erotic book but
it wasn't really, in fact there was only one part that this was touched on. For
me this could have been a little more sensual and here we could have used more
of the descriptive narrative that we were entertained with for the first half
of the book.

However I liked the storyline and for a short read it kept
me entertained for a couple of hours.

Saturday, 11 May 2013

Reckless - S C Stephens

Contemporary, m/f

read March 2013

Rating = 5+ stars!!

OMG I absolutely loved, loved, LOVED this book. I adored
every itty bitty part of it. In fact this series is possibly the only one I can
bring to mind where I have reread the books multiple times. I have read quite
a few twice but this series totally rocks and kicks ass and drags me back to
dip into time and time again. This third and final part of the series did not
disappoint. It gave me everything I had been waiting and hoping for…and praying
for…and begging for….it just WAS the ULTIMATE!

Kellan Kyle has had a huge impact on my life, no seriously
he has. Even if it has been a few months since I read the previous books he
would still pop into my head at the most random times for no apparent reason
and I would be yearning for him again. He is one of, if not the most definitive
character I have ever read. His strength of righteousness and his overriding
love which he found with Keira was glorious to see. Yes he was kick ass and
went for what he wanted but the gentle naivety that he tried to keep hidden
just pulled you right in and wanting to totally protect him. Even now I am
bereft that there is no more Kellan, I actually feel physical pain. Lordy me! I
am HIS, spoilt for every other man – no-one could live up to Kellan!

And as for Keira? Well where do I start? I actually didn't really like her in the beginning; I really wanted to shake her! But over the
three books you can see the clever way that S C Stephens has developed her. She
started off a needy, angst driven little upstart but then at the end of the
first book she began to see the errors of what she had done. In the second book
she became more confident and mature and it was lovely to see her blossom. But
again it’s the way it was written so wonderfully. In this final book she was
the driving force of the relationship and so mature and utterly selfless
Everything she did, every decision she made was for Kellan. How she held
herself back from the BITCH (I refuse to mention her name) who was just out to
use Kellan for her own fame game – well I just know I would have had her in a
headlock and shoved her head down a toilet if it had been me!

The first book (Thoughtless) was very angst driven and I was
an emotional wreck when I read it – it still does now. The second book
(Effortless) was more around Kellan and Keira learning to trust one another and
yes there were still instants of “oh my god I can't turn the page…I can’t
cry/laugh/sob/scream/rant anymore” but I did! This final book is Kellan and
Keira against the World. I hate to say this as this term annoys the crap out of
me but it really, really was an epic journey. But I for one was glad to be
there for every step of their relationship.

The secondary characters were also absorbing and I just
wanted to be on that tour bus, joking with Evan and Matt and laughing at
Griffin. He really grew on me and the lovely scenes with Anna and Gibson – oh
so sweet. Who knew the foul mouthed, crotch grabbing gigolo could change his
life around (although he’s still foul mouthed and crotch grabbing haha)

Now for Denny, aww Denny. Mate. Sweetheart. Even now it
brings a tear to my eye with the parts with him and Kellan. It just goes to
prove that any impossible situation can be overcome. If not bettered.
Beautifully done.

I really cannot praise this book enough and I just want to
HUG the author so much. Yes who knew that the emotional wreck that I became
reading this series would want me to want to do that but I ADORED this series.
Absolutely, wholeheartedly and passionately LOVED it. I want to give it 10
stars! Why can I only give 5? Well I'm giving it 10 stars so there! Big neon
signs pointing to *Recommend*.

My first read of a Jet Mykles book. Plenty of times
recommended and plenty of times I waited. Anyway I finally succumbed and I'm sad to say I wasn't as blown away as I thought I should be.

I love m/m and I love rock bands so both together should
have been 10 stars huh? Nope. That’s not to say I didn't enjoy it. I did. A
bit.

Tyler is the manager of his father’s hotel and is opening a
nightclub in it to bring in some much needed business. He hires the mega rock
group Heaven Sent for the opening night. Enter Johnnie the horny hot bisexual
lead singer, who has the hots for Tyler. Unfortunately Tyler is not gay but hey
does that make any difference? What Johnnie wants – Johnnie gets.

When does No not mean No? I think that was the part that
irked the pants out of me. And this whole “I'm not gay but you can do me
anyway, even though I said no” is getting annoying to read.

Anyway saying all that I can’t say it didn't keep me
entertained because yes it did. It was nicely written even if the storyline
felt a little rushed in parts. However it was hot and steamy, Oh yes!

I will go on and read the next book if only to find out more
about this band. Oh and Luc. He was a promise.

So
maybe I was on a funk the day I read this but not a big wowie I was expecting
but still enjoyable.

This novella was a big surprise for me and amazingly
brilliant! I had seen good reviews and how people wanted it to be longer, blah
blah blah. But then having read the blurb I was a little “ick” and had
therefore put off reading it. After a shove from a bookie pimp who knows my
kink well, I decided to read the first page. I was there two hours later
completely hooked.

The story centres on Ember and her four protectors who are
in a band – Demons Wings. Ember is ten years younger than Nik, Jesse, Drake and
Shane but they took her under their “Demon’s” wing from when she was seven and
living in a trailer park with her drug addict mother. They take care of her
after every beating her deadbeat mother gives her and make sure she is not left
her to fend for herself. At that time the band was just getting set up but
eventually made the big time. When Ember’s mother dies, she goes on the road
with the band where she has been ever since. Skip forward a few years and Ember
is now in her early twenties and taking care of the band’s every need – be that
chucking out the skank women after a night of ...well you know what, to making
sure that they made the stage each night.

Then Ember takes ill and the result is a shocker for them
all.

My initial “ick” of Ember taking up with one of the band
after they had kind of brought her up was quickly washed away and that was down
to the way the author handled it. Brilliantly. I instantly fell for these guys
and their lifestyle. They each, individually, had their own endearing quirks
that just grabbed you. But for me it was Nik. Gorgeous lead singer but so whoa
whoop-whoop!

A wonderful quick read that totally brightened up one gloomy
Saturday morning for me. A complete package of passion and rawk! A serious contender for novella of the year. Definitely
recommend you grab this little beauty and escape into the world of Demon’s
Wing. Fab-u-lous!

*ARC courtesy by Gallery
Books via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review*

I was interested to read this
book as I had been made aware that this was a fanfic of Twilight that had been
reworked and edited. Firstly I need to point out there is no relevance to
Twilight at all, I have never read The Office (the fanfic or any other for that
matter) but this is not a book for YA. Nope. Not at all.

OK then on with the book that
is Beautiful Bastard who is Bennett Ryan, who is the powerful executive in his
family media business. Chloe Mills is the intern in her final months of her
internship working directly under Bennett (in more ways than one!)

Bennett had returned from a
long stint working in France. Chloe had been working for the Ryan firm for six
years and had gained the respect and friendship of the Ryan family who had
taken her under their wing. She in return totally respected them and was a hard working intern for them. Then for the last nine months she had been working
for Bennett. This was not a good working relationship. In fact they despised
each other. Why?

The first part just did not
gel for me. There was not much plot and needed more “meat on the bones” of the
story. What was the background of the main characters? Why did they hate each
other so much? Then came the first sexual contact and from then on it was
constant. In the office, on stairways of the building (bet Security loved that
although no mention was made of the cameras – maybe Ryan’s building did not
have cameras huh?) Then they were at it in the lingerie store (and nobody heard
or saw them?)

I found the switching between
POVs a tad frustrating too as I had to read the first paragraph before I could
figure out whose thoughts they were.

I get that Bennett was only
recently on the scene and that sparks had been flying almost since they had
met. Yes hate is a close relation to love but seriously? What was the reason for
the hate? Would Chloe jeopardise her position at the company and so close to
her finishing her internship and also in view of her deep respect for the
family? Why would they both want to have hot raunchy sex with each other when
they couldn’t (allegedly) bear the sight of each other? I needed a lot more
character development to be able to understand this.

I liked that Chloe was not a
whiney ass female and that Bennett was a strong alpha male (he was The Boss! As
he kept reminding us) I also liked the kink of the knicker/panty ripping – yes
people do have strange fetishes and Bennett’s was taking panty souvenirs haha.

However I did like the
storyline of last quarter of the book. It was a good HEA but no reason to link
it with the earlier behaviours and why all of a sudden these changed. Maybe it
was the bed – yes always best to try it out on a bed. Good relationship
developments happen in beds!

Overall it was an OK read and
I did enjoy it but with a little more story in the beginning it could have been
much better.

Thank you to Gallery and
Edelweiss for the ARC and the opportunity to read this before publication.

Monday, 6 May 2013

Second Chances - T. A. Webb

M/M

Rating = Five + stars

WOW. This book just rocked my World. From the first page my
heart was gripped, twisted, torn in two then it was caressed, appeased and
filled with joy. It was like therapy. Words just cannot convey enough (well not
as eloquently as Mr Webb can) of how beautiful this book really is.

It spans a decade in the life of Mark and covers the death
of his mother, his love with his partner Brian and his extra special
relationship with his best friend Antonio. That is a very high level
description and does not give credence of it fully but it is the depth of
feelings that are wonderfully written and take you on an eventful journey.

The book starts with the pain Mark goes through when his
mother is dying and it is these scenes that made me a total wreck. It took me
back to my own painful memory and I could feel everything that was being
expressed. I was sat in that car with Mark saying the exact same things! Then
the book moves on after her death and you think “Right no more tears, nothing
can be worse than that episode, right?” Oh my god. Yes more was to come.

This book was much more than an m/m romance. Yes there were
some hot scenes but to me this was more of a book about life, about living with
pain, it was about lost and new loves. It was about acceptance and family. It
was told from Mark’s POV and this was very articulate and took you through the
book feeling as if you were him, from the depths of his despair to the highs of
his finding joy. Oh and he had a cheeky side that had me cracking up and
cackling like a hyena. He was so endearing and I wanted him to be real! The
scenes with Brian were a total surprise as you were expecting to hate this guy
who had cheated on Mark but I found myself wanting to hug him. And that was
before the big twist was revealed. That just blew me away. More Kleenex please!

Now Antonio was something else and totally my kink with his
tats and muscles. Yum. What I would have given to have a massage from him! I
loved how he was so open with his feelings and was not some macho A-hole. If he
needed to work out what was going on in his head – he went right on and acted
on it. A joy to read. I could totally get how Mark and Antonio were with each
other and how their relationship built. I loved how they were there for each
other through the deaths, money troubles, nasty siblings/women and taking care
of Antonio’s son, Jason.

I could go on and on in regards to every little aspect of
the book but to do so would give the whole game away and I was glad nobody gave
it away for me. I can only say if you don't read this book you will be missing
out on a totally and utterly beautiful read. Yes it was emotional but it was one
of the best books I have ever read. Tom Webb is a wonderful writer and is now
firmly established on my “must read” list and this is not a very long list. So
yes I thoroughly, resolutely and abso-frickin-lutely recommend this book. Oh
and don't forget the tissues!